


Love Me

by larrytiel



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Harry's wedding, M/M, Unrequited Love, prom scene, this was supposed to be a one shot lol, wedding au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2018-08-10 06:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7834507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrytiel/pseuds/larrytiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Love me. Choose me." She pleaded.<br/>"I can't." He said. "I'm sorry."<br/>Or the one where she's in love with him, her timing just couldn't be worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. She's got a Boyfriend Anyway

**Author's Note:**

> You know when you just have feels for your fave and you try and write yourself a one shot? Yeah, that's what this is, except it turned into more than a one shot. Hope you like it!

Everything was white, too white. Her dress was too white.  
Her dress was definitely too white.  
“I can’t get married. I hate white.” Shannon said and Grace just rolled her eyes.  
“It’s not for you. I’ve just tried on enough dresses for one day.”  
“Well we’re not the same size.” Shannon said, glancing at herself in the mirror. “But I look damn good in this dress.”  
“Yeah, you do.” Grace said thoughtfully. “Try the veil.”  
Shannon did, placing it on top of her head carefully. The opaque fabric fell gracefully around her, and she felt her heart ache with longing. She wanted her own wedding.  
“Shit.” Grace said, looking at her from all angles. “We need to find you a man so you can get this dress.”  
“Eh, it’s too much.” Shannon lied. “Besides, this is your wedding.”  
“Yeah, yeah. Shut up and let me take pictures of you.”  
Shannon rolled her eyes, but was secretly grateful for Grace’s determination. She posed for a few minutes as Grace snapped photos on her iPhone, gushing over the look.  
“Alright, go change. I think that’s enough dress shopping for the day.”  
“I think you’re right.” Shannon said, disappearing into the changeroom to change out of what might be the last wedding dress she ever got to wear.  
***  
As the week of the wedding approached, it was hard to know if Grace or Shannon was more nervous.  
“You and Harry are going to make it, you know that. He loves you and you love him, what more can you need?” Shannon said to Grace, linking her arm as they stepped off the plane, trying to ignore her pounding heartbeat.  
“I know, I just wish the divorce rate wasn’t so damn high.” Grace said with a sigh. “Like 50% in America? That’s crazy.”  
“Well it’s also a 50% chance you’ll stay together.” Shannon pointed out. Grace rolled her eyes.  
“All right Miss Positivity. If you’re not worried about me and Harry, why the hell were you twitching the whole plane ride over?”  
Shannon blushed. “I was not.”  
“You were so.”  
“I, I don’t like airplanes.” Shannon lied and Grace raised an eyebrow at her.  
“And yet you begged me for the window seat?” Grace scoffed, shaking her head at her. Suddenly her eyes widened in realization.  
“You still haven’t talked to Niall, have you?”  
Shannon blushed again, a very deep red. “I can’t.”  
“He’s your best friend, you have to.”  
“He turned me down. I literally _begged_ him to choose me, and he still didn’t. I’m too embarrassed to face him.”  
“You still have to, he’s Harry’s best man.” Grace pointed out and Shannon sighed.  
“I know. You’re making me walk down the damn aisle with him and everything.”  
“Good practice for your wedding.”  
“It’s not going to ever happen, Niall made that very clear.” Shannon said. “Forget about it, I’ll be fine. Just worry about yourself, it’s your wedding.”  
“Fine. For now.” Grace said. “Someone has to worry about you since you clearly won’t look after yourself.”  
“Hey, it’s your fault I told him in the first place.” Shannon pointed out as they grabbed their luggage. They followed the crowd out of the airport and jumped into a taxi.  
“It’s better he knows.” Grace said finally, as they were driving towards the New York City centre. “You’re not hiding anything from him.”  
“I guess.” Shannon said, not wanting to start an argument. The truth was, she thought that telling Niall she was in love with him was the biggest mistake she had ever made. It had destroyed their friendship and left Shannon too embarrassed to even be in a room with the man she considered her best friend.  
They pulled in front of the hotel after the short cab ride, and they two girls thanked the taxi driver as Shannon payed him. They removed their luggage from the trunk and made their way into the lobby of the hotel.  
“Shit.” Shannon said under her breath as they stepped into the lobby. Grace just smiled solemnly at her.  
“You were going to have to face him eventually. Might as well get it out of the way.”  
“Did his girlfriend have to be in the room when I did it though?” Shannon muttered and Grace snorted.  
“God hates you. Go deal with it.”  
Shannon felt dread wash over her as she approached the front desk, right where Niall and his girlfriend Jenna were standing.  
Jenna noticed her first, and smiled warmly at her. “Shannon! It’s been so long I thought you’d died!”  
Shannon tried her best to smile normally back, but Niall had turned to look at her when Jenna spoke and she found it hard to look at either of them when Niall was staring at her with that pitying look on his face.  
“I’m sorry, I’ve just been really busy with wedding stuff.” Shannon said which wasn’t a lie, as Grace’s maid of honour she had been very busy. Jenna pulled her into a hug.  
“Well we need to get a drink later, I’ve missed having you around. Niall’s driving me crazy.”  
“What else is new?” Shannon tried to joke, but it felt caught in her chest. Jenna didn’t seem to notice but Niall smiled at her sadly from over Jenna’s shoulder.  
Shannon couldn’t tell if it was good or bad that Niall hadn’t told Jenna what had happened between them. On the one hand Jenna wouldn’t try and stop her from seeing Niall, but on the other hand, she would have to see Niall. A lot of Niall. And act like everything was normal between them.  
It might have been easier if Jenna hated her.  
“We’ll let you guys get settled.” Niall said, leading Jenna away.  
“I’ll text you!” She chirped at Shannon. “About that drink!”  
“Yeah.” Shannon said, giving them a small wave as they disappeared onto the elevator. Grace came up behind her and Shannon turned to her with a groan.  
“Did you see the way he was looking at me? We’re never going to be able to go back to just being friends.” Shannon sighed. “I shouldn’t have told him.”  
“It was eating you alive, you know it was. You two will get over it eventually. You’re best friends, nothing is going to change that.”  
“You know, you used to get mad at me for calling Niall my best friend.”  
Grace smirked. “I got over it. You need me. We’re sisters.”  
“Sister chromatits.”  
“Shut the fuck up.”  
***  
The thing with Jenna, was that Shannon couldn’t hate her if she tried.  
Usually when you fall in love with your best friend, he’s single, or he’s dating some bitch you hate but pretended to put up with for years because that’s what best friends do. But Jenna was the nicest girl Shannon knew, and she was perfect for Niall. They were even friends themselves, and Jenna often chose hanging out with Shannon over Niall, something that Shannon took pride in and used to rub in Niall’s face at every available opportunity.  
Now however, she just wished Jenna was a bitch.  
“So.” Jenna said, putting down her martini and smiling at Shannon. “Any hot guys at this wedding?”  
“Um…”  
“I mean other than Niall.”  
Shannon tried not to blush, bringing her glass to her lips to try and disguise it.  
“Ew.” She said as she finished her sip. Jenna just rolled her eyes.  
“I get you guys are best friends since birth or whatever, but you still have to admit that he’s pretty attractive.”  
_Yes he is_ , Shannon thought, but didn’t say anything to Jenna. “Whatever you say.”  
Jenna grinned. “I’m making it my personal mission to get you laid this weekend. I need a boy to make fun of you about.”  
“Good luck.” Shannon said. “You won’t see much of me after now.”  
“Why not?”  
“I’m the maid of honour, Grace has got me running around the city all weekend, picking up stuff for her. Nothing personal.” Shannon said with a grin. Jenna just swatted her arm.  
“I hate you. You can’t stop me from finding you happiness.”  
“I thought you were finding me a hookup?”  
“Hookups can lead to beautiful things.” Jenna said. “Just look at Grace and Harry.”  
“Fair point.” Shannon said, downing the rest of her martini.  
She and Jenna stayed out for about another hour doing shots, before walking back to their hotel.  
“You know, you chose the worst possible moment to disappear.” Jenna said.  
“Why’s that?”  
“Niall’s been acting weird the past few weeks. He won’t tell me why and usually I’d ask you, but I know he hasn’t seen you since he started acting weird anyway.”  
Shannon held her breath, waiting for Jenna to put two and two together, but thankfully she never did. They stepped into the hotel, taking the elevator to their respective floors. Shannon was staying in Grace and Harry’s wedding night suite until after they got married, which Shannon was eternally grateful to Grace for, since she knew she would be coming home to free champagne and food for the next couple of nights.  
“Well this is me.” Jenna said as the elevator stopped at the 5th floor, giving Shannon a hug before stepping off the elevator. “Can you talk to Niall for me?”  
“Of course.” Shannon lied, giving her a small smile. “Have a good night.”  
“Yeah you too.”  
The elevator doors closed again and Shannon let out a breath, feeling guilt wash over her. She knew what was wrong with Niall, and she knew damn well that she wasn’t going to speak to him more than was needed all weekend. She would just tell him to make up some tragedy to tell Jenna was bothering him.  
She felt bad for putting this kind of strain on their relationship, but she couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope. If Niall was so bothered by what she had said, to the point where Jenna knew something was wrong, maybe he did feel the same way.  
It doesn’t matter. The voice in her head cut off her blissful thoughts. He loves Jenna. You wouldn’t do that to her.  
The voice was right, and she knew it. It was just hard to let go of the feelings she had been fighting since high school.  
She stepped off the elevator and into the suite, grabbing the glass of champagne that was left out for her with the white card with elegant black cursive writing that read _Congratulations!_  
She ignored the card as she downed the glass of champagne in one sip. If she hadn’t already been drinking, she might have noticed that the second glass was missing.  
It would have been helpful if she had noticed that before she poured herself the second glass, because when the man in the room came up to her she was so shocked that she dropped the rest of the bottle on the ground.  
“Shannon?”  
“Niall?”


	2. Night of our Nightmares, Night of our Dreams

“Wha-what are you doing here?” Shannon asked Niall, a blush creeping up her cheeks. He looked just as embarrassed, not that Shannon noticed.

“I, um, Harry asked me to…”

“Grace asked me to stay here.” She said quickly. “I’m not stalking you or anything.”

“Harry, Harry asked me the same thing.” Niall finished awkwardly. “Look, I can go stay in Jenna’s room if it’s, like, awkward or whatever.”

Shannon felt her heart sink in her chest. She and Niall had shared hotel rooms for almost a full year in college when they had gone backpacking through Europe, but she had obviously ruined that type of intimacy they had once been able to share. Niall couldn’t even stand to be in a room alone with her anymore.

“I, I’m fine. If you want to go I understand.” Shannon said, putting down her glass of champagne. “I just don’t have anywhere else to go.” 

“Look, we can do this. Just sit down, we’re fine.” Niall said, and Shannon just wished she could believe him. 

The bed was shaped like a heart, which under normal circumstances would have made Shannon gag, but right now just made everything more awkward. She really wished she hadn’t spilled the champagne now. 

Niall was sitting on the edge of the bed, still looking at her with the same sad eyes from this morning. Shannon tried to ignore it as she grabbed her champagne glass and sat down, further away from him than was probably necessary.

“I’m sorry.” She said after a minute to Niall. “I shouldn’t have told you.”

“No, I, I’m glad you did.” Niall said but Shannon was fairly sure he was lying. “Your timing was just bad is all.”

“You know I wasn’t trying to destroy your relationship right? I really like Jenna, I do. I think you two should…”

“Get married?” Niall asked quietly and Shannon blushed.

“I mean, if that’s what you want.”   
“I…” Niall trailed off. “I don’t know.”

“I mean, you don’t have to know yet.” Shannon said. “But you love her and she loves you, so one day…”

“I bought the ring.” Niall blurted and Shannon’s eyes widened, trying to ignore her heart breaking. 

“You… Wow. Congrats.” Shannon said, not knowing what to say.

“Don’t do that.” Niall groaned. “Don’t be supportive.”   
“What do you mean? I- I’m still your best friend. Right?” She asked tentatively and Niall smiled, knocking her shoulder with his. 

“Of course you are you idiot.” 

“Then why…?” 

“Aren’t you like, supposed to fight for me or whatever?” Niall asked, flailing his arms slightly and Shannon couldn’t help but laugh a little. “What?”

“What do you want me to do? Get down on my knees and beg you to love me? I tried that.” Shannon pointed out. “Well not the down on my knees part but you get it. I know you love her. I’m still your best friend, and I’m still going to be happy for you if you want to marry Jenna.”

Niall just groaned. “You make my life incredibly difficult, you know that?”

“I’m not  _ trying _ to…”

“I know.” Niall said, lying back on the heart shaped bed. “Do you mind if we, just you know, pretend it never happened?”

“Ugh, please.” Shannon said and Niall laughed. “I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah.” Shannon said with a shrug. “I completely embarrassed myself and now you won’t look at me without giving me that stupid sad look.” 

Niall laughed. “I felt guilty!”

“Well don’t. Just make fun of me or something so we can go back to normal.” Shannon said, finishing her glass of champagne in one last gulp. “Here, I’ve even got a good one for you. Grace made me try on one of her wedding dresses so you can tell me how I look like a pageant girl or a cream puff or whatever.”   
She pulled up the picture on her phone and passed it to Niall. His face softened as he looked at it.

“I…”   
“Pretty awful right? Could you imagine me trying to walk down the aisle in that thing? I’d be tripping on it the whole way down.” Shannon said. 

Niall hesitated for a second before answering. “You look like a swan.”

Shannon laughed, falling back to lie down next to him. “I tried to tell Grace that but she still got the white dress. Her funeral right?”   
“More like her wedding.”

Shannon laughed again, feeling the awkwardness between her and Niall slowly disappear. They lay there for a while, talking and laughing at the absurd things Harry and Grace had planned for the wedding, and amusing themselves by planning the most extra wedding they could for Niall and Jenna.

“An entire orchestra playing the wedding march as Jenna walks down the aisle.” Shannon said, before her eyes widened. “No, shit, wait, she should walk down the aisle to the _ Imperial March _ from  _ Star Wars _ .” 

“Our vows will be the entire script of  _ Bee Movie _ .”   
“The ring bearer will be Harry dressed as a frog on a unicycle and everyone will yell ‘Here comes dat boi!’ “Oh shit whaddup!” as he comes down the aisle.” 

“Two rare Pepe’s on top of the cake where the bride and groom statue is supposed to be.”

“Instead of kissing you two and the entire bridal party will recreate the  _ Dear Sister  _ skit from SNL.”

Niall laughed hard at that, since that was both of their favourite meme. “You’re officially my wedding planner.”

“I’d be insulted if it were anyone else.”

They went to bed shortly after that, trying but failing to give each other space in the oddly shaped bed. They lay awkwardly shoulder to shoulder, the tension slowly falling back between them. 

As Shannon lay awake she thought back to the night she had told Niall her feelings. The night that had potentially ruined their friendship forever.

_ The party was dull, so naturally Shannon had way more to drink than usual. She was trying to singlehandedly bring the life back to the party, and it was working to some extent. People were bonding over how dumb she was acting. _

_ “Let’s play beer pong!” She said to her friend Louis, grabbing his arm and bringing him to the corner of the backyard that had been designated for beer pong. _

_ “I think it’s occupied.” Louis said with a smirk. “Niall and Jenna seem to be a little busy.” _

_ “Yikes, out here?” Shannon said and Louis laughed, taking her back to the front of the yard where the alcohol was. _

_ “Don’t worry about them. Have another drink love.” _

_ ***  _

_ The rest of the night went by in mostly a blur, and before Shannon knew it she was mostly sober, looking after Grace who was throwing up in the basement. _

_ “Is she okay?” Harry asked as he finally came downstairs. He hadn’t been at the party for one reason or another, but once Shannon had called him about Grace he had raced down to look after her.  _

_ “She’s not feeling very well, obviously, but there’s nothing seriously wrong with her. I’ll leave you to take her home.” Shannon had said, not wanting to crowd Grace. _

_ She had gone back upstairs and was immediately handed more drinks. She didn’t really want to drink anymore, afraid she would end up like Grace, but she was luckily saved, as usual, by Niall. _

_ “Hey Shannon, wanna share my Uber?” _

_ “Yes.” Shannon said, handing her drink to Louis. She said goodbye to everyone who were reluctant to let her go, but she eventually broke free and followed Niall outside. _

_ “Is Grace okay?” He asked and Shannon nodded. _

_ “Where’s the Uber?” _

_ “Oh, I lied about that. You just looked like you wanted to get out of there. Wanna grab McDonald’s?” _

_ Of course she did, so that’s what they did. They brought their food to one of the local parks, sitting on the swings and eating peacefully.  _

_ Shannon sipped her milkshake and watched Niall eat his fries, the street lights illuminating his facial features in a way that made her heart ache.  _

_ Niall was talking about something, but Shannon couldn’t bring herself to listen to what. Her heart was pounding because Grace was right, she had to tell him. If she didn’t she would never be able to hear what he was saying again. She wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about how she had to tell him, how much her heart ached every time she looked at him and knew she couldn’t have him.  _

_ “Niall, can I talk to you?” She said before she could stop herself. _

_ “You already are dumbass.” Niall said, popping another fry in his mouth. “Want some?” _

_ “Yeah.” Shannon said, taking a handful from him. She swung back and forth a bit on the swing as they ate. _

_ “What’s up though?” Niall asked as he finished his fries. “That was a pretty serious conversation starter. If we were dating I’d think you were breaking up with me.” _

_ Shannon took a deep breath before answering. “I need to tell you something, but I need to know it’s not going to fuck up our friendship.” _

_ “Ok, now you’re scaring me.” Niall said. “What could you possibly say to me that would ruin our friendship? We’re womb to tomb, remember?”  _

_ Niall was of course, 6 months older than her so that analogy didn’t work for them, something that Shannon would have pointed out any other day. Today however, she just had to get out what had been bugging her for years now. _

_ “What if I said I was in love with you?” _

_ The grin on Niall’s face faded. “Is that hypothetical or what you actually needed to tell me?” _

_ “That’s what I needed to tell you.” Shannon said softly. “I’ve, I’ve been trying to fight it since high school.” _ _   
_ _ Niall stared at her shocked. “Since  _ high school? _ Shannon, Jesus…” _

_ Shannon bit her lip, not daring to say anything. She had ruined whatever connection they had between them and she knew it.  _

_ Now they weren’t going to be friends from the womb or to the tomb.  _

_ “I, Christ.” Niall ran a hand through his hair. “I’m with Jenna.” _

_ “I know.” Shannon said quietly. “I’m sorry. I just had to tell you.” _

_ “Did you though?” Niall snapped and Shannon flinched.  _

_ “I just… I’d want to know. If we were reversed.” She said, which had been what Grace had said to her to convince her to tell Niall in the first place. _

_ Niall was silent for a long time and eventually Shannon realized she had to speak again before the tension became too much and Niall just left. _

_ “I know you don’t feel the same way.” _

_ “I’m with Jenna.” Niall said weakly. “I love Jenna.” _

_ “I know. This is all I’m going to say and then I’ll drop it.” Shannon said swallowing a lump in her throat.  _

_ “Love me. Choose me.” She said. _

_ “I can’t.” He said. “I’m sorry.” _

_ Shannon just nodded, trying to ignore her broken heart.  _

_ After that she had gone home, declining Niall’s half-hearted offer to walk her there.  _

_ Maybe if she hadn’t felt so broken that night, she would have realized that Niall had in fact never said that he didn’t feel the same way. _

She realized it that night though. Laying in that stupid heart shaped bed, her shoulder pressed against Niall’s, she realized that he had only turned her down because he had already bought that stupid ring for Jenna.

_ Drop it _ . The voice in the back of her head was firm.  _ It’s not going to happen. _

And so Shannon had rolled over and tried to fall asleep, trying not to think about Niall.

She didn’t realize that he was staring at the ceiling just as awake as she was, trying his hardest to get the picture of Shannon in that wedding dress out of his head.

*** 

The next morning neither Shannon or Niall mentioned what had kept them up at night, and they went back to talking as they had the previous night.

“Louis and his new boyfriend Zayn are supposed to come in today.” Niall said. “Harry wanted me to pick them up at the airport.”

“Oh, can I come?” Shannon asked excitedly. “I want to grill Zayn in the car.”

“I figured you would.” Niall said with a small yawn. “Did Grace need you to do anything today?”   
“Her mom comes in after breakfast, so I’m pretty much off the hook once she gets here.” Shannon said. They finished getting dressed and went downstairs to the buffet the hotel set up for breakfast.

The lobby was mostly taken over by the wedding party, and people turned to greet the two of them enthusiastically when they entered. 

“Shannon!” Harry called to her excitedly, pulling her into a large hug. Harry was very tall and practically lifted her off the ground every time he hugged her. “I haven’t seen you in weeks!”

Which was true, Shannon hadn’t seen any of her friends unless she had to since she had been turned down by Niall. She had just assumed the worst, that Grace and Niall had spread the news throughout their group, and had been too embarrassed to face anyone after that. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Shannon said, as Niall excused himself to talk to Jenna. Once Niall left, Harry pulled away from her and held her at a half arm’s length, looking into her eyes seriously. 

“Did you two make up? I know the heart bed was a little much, but I figured if there was anything you two could make fun of it was us and our cheesy wedding. Please tell me it worked.”   
Shannon didn’t know how she hadn’t assumed Grace hadn’t told Harry about what had happened between her and Niall, but she found herself surprised when he said that. She nodded in response.

“We’re fine. We talked it over, kind of, and we’re back to being friends. I’m gonna go with him to the airport to get Louis and his boyfriend if it’s okay with Grace.”

Harry grinned widely, pulling her into another hug. “I knew you guys would work it out. If Grace doesn’t let you go come talk to me, I’ll make sure she changes her mind.”

Shannon thanked him before grabbing a few things for breakfast and walking over to talk to Grace.

Grace was, of course, surrounded by people, asking her every question imaginable about the wedding.

She looked relieved when Shannon came up to her, shooing everyone away and claiming they had important things to discuss.

“So? How was your night?” Grace asked and Shannon swatted her arm.

“You could’ve at least warned me.”

“Then you wouldn’t have gone.” Grace pointed out and Shannon shrugged. 

“I suppose. Do you mind if I go with Niall to get Louis and Zayn from the airport?”

Grace grinned. “You really did make up. My mom should be here any minute, so you already know she won’t let you do anything once she gets here.”   
“She might. Your mom loves me.”

“Not as much as she loves planning this wedding.” Grace said. “Go with Niall. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

“Try not to.” Shannon said and Grace grinned. “You know I can’t drive.”

“Have fun. But not too much fun.”

“Fuck off.”

*** 

Shannon was singing loudly and obnoxiously to the radio just to piss Niall off as he drove through the New York City centre. 

He glared at her when they got to a stoplight. “I hate you.”

“What? You don’t like my singing?” Shannon asked innocently. Niall just switched off the radio in response. 

“We’re early. Wanna stop for lunch?” He asked. Shannon agreed, starving since she hadn’t eaten enough for breakfast. 

Niall parked the car on a side street before leading her onto 5th Avenue. Shannon quirked an eyebrow at him. 

“Where exactly are we getting lunch? Gucci?”

“What about Tiffany’s?” Niall said, nodding down the street. “It’s still 11, it could technically be breakfast.”

Shannon couldn’t stop the huge grin that spread across her face. What she had done to deserve a friend like Niall, she would never know.

They walked into a local cafe to grab their food, and stood outside the Tiffany’s for a bit as they ate. Eating like that soon got old, as many other people were doing the same thing, so they walked the short distance to Central Park and went to sit by one of the fountains. 

“Isn’t that the  _ Friends _ fountain?” Shannon asked, squinting at it. Niall grinned as he gave it a closer look. 

“Yeah, I think it is. We should get a picture with it.”

And so they did, asking one of the many tourists milling about to take their picture. They sat back on the bench and sipped their coffee for a few minutes, watching all the different people passing by.

“So I, um, I think I’m going to ask Jenna to marry me tonight.” Niall said after a while. Shannon smiled, so genuinely happy for him she barely noticed the way her heart was sinking. 

“That’s great! Where are you going to do it?”

Niall looked relieved by her reaction. “I was actually going to do it here. What do you think? Is it romantic enough?” 

“It’s perfect.” Shannon said, grinning as she looked around. “Do you want the suite tonight for after? I can stay with Grace.”

Niall shook his head. “No, you stay there. That room is way too damn cheesy for this. I’ll just stay in her room, so you can have your own bed tonight.” 

“Thank God for that.” Shannon said with a grin. “Can I see the ring?”

Niall nodded, and Shannon had forgotten just how much money Niall made until that very moment.

“Shit that’s a big rock.” She said with wide eyes. “How can she say no to that?”

“Don’t you mean to me?”

“Eh, that too.” Shannon said, grinning at him. “Nah, Niall it’ll be great. I’m so happy for you.”

Niall smiled at her, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you.”

“Although the night before the wedding? Harry might kill you.”

“He never has to know.” Niall said, pulling away from her. “If you tell him I’ll kill you.”

“My lips are sealed.”

*** 

The rest of their drive to the airport was uneventful enough, aside from their fight to turn the radio on and off. The fight only escalated when they were parked, since Niall could finally give the radio his full attention.

“Stop it.” Shannon was poking at his hands that were covering the dial. “This is cheating!” 

“Jesus you two haven’t changed.” Louis said poking his head into the open car window, and they both stopped what they were doing to rush out and greet him.

Shannon jumped into his arms and Louis caught her grinning. “Miss me?”

“Yes.” She said. “You moved so far.”

The party they had been at that night had been Louis’ going away party, since he had gotten a job offer in another state. They had been friends with Louis since high school, he was a year above Niall and two above Shannon, so once he had graduated he had been their main supplier of booze and had gotten them into frat parties. 

“Well I’m back now, so you can quit whining to me every day through the phone.” Louis said, putting her down. “The job sucked. I’m moving back.”

“Really?” Niall said excitedly. “That’s great!”

Louis introduced them to Zayn after that and they greeted him pleasantly before getting into the car and driving back towards their hotel.

“So have you two started dating yet?” Louis asked and both Shannon and Niall blushed.

“Let it go.” Shannon said and Niall gave her a grateful look. Louis just rolled his eyes.

“Never. Zayn did I ever tell you the prom story?”

“Only every damn day after we decided to move.” Zayn said and Shannon and Niall both groaned. 

“Louis it wasn’t even a big deal.” Niall said.

“Was so.” Louis said, smirking. “It all started in May…”

_ “Did Niall tell you who’s he’s planning on asking to Prom?” Was the most common question Shannon was being asked by all the senior girls in the month leading up to their prom. Everyone knew Shannon was Niall’s best friend, and since she was a junior, they knew she wouldn’t mind breaking secrets. _

_ “I don’t know.” She said. “I’m sorry, he doesn’t talk about it.” _ _   
_ _ Which was a lie, it had been all Niall had complained about for the past few weeks. He was probably the most popular guy at their high school, and had just recently broken up with his cheerleader girlfriend, who Shannon could now happily admit to him she had hated.  _

_ He had not however, told her who he was planning on bringing. He would just sigh dramatically as he came to find her at lunch, thrusting flowers and boxes of chocolates at her that his “admirers” had given him. _

_ “Maybe you should just go stag.” Shannon said, popping chocolates in her mouth as they sat in the back of the auditorium. “Then you’ll keep getting these gifts right up until prom night.” _

_ Niall had rolled his eyes, saying something about how not bringing a date was social suicide. He had then had to leave for soccer practice, leaving Shannon alone in the auditorium.  _

_ “He’s going to ask you.” Grace had said, coming up behind her. Shannon had shaken her head, offering her some chocolates.  _

_ “We’re just friends.” She said, even though in the back of her mind she knew, even then, that she wanted something more.  _

_ The next day Niall didn’t meet her at her locker before lunch with chocolates, and Shannon was a little upset, she hadn’t brought a lunch.  _

_ When she got to the auditorium Niall wasn’t there either, but there was a large group of senior girls gathered near the front of the stage, whispering amongst themselves.  _

_ Grace and her boyfriend Liam were sitting a little further back from the crowd, talking and rolling their eyes at them. _

_ “Have you guys seen Niall?” Shannon asked, sitting in the row of seats in front of them. Grace just smirked at her. _

_ “He’s supposed to be asking someone to prom today. That’s why there’s so many seniors here.” Liam said. _

_ “What? Who’s he asking?” Shannon said surprised. _

_ “He didn’t tell you?” _

_ “No.” Shannon said a little insulted. “Guess that means no more chocolates.” _

_ Grace rolled her eyes and Liam laughed. Niall rushed into the auditorium at that moment, and was cornered by the group of seniors immediately.  _

_ “Hi Niall!” _

_ “Is that a  _ rose _ Niall?” _ _   
_ _ “Um.” Niall said awkwardly, trying to get away from them. “I have to go.” _

_ He finally broke free from them and went to sit next to Shannon. Grace and Liam looked disappointed.  _

_ “I thought you finally decided.” Grace said. “I wanted to watch all of those girls fight.” _

_ “Er, I have, I think.” Niall said and Shannon turned to look at him. _

_ “Really? Who? Why didn’t you tell me?” _

_ “I uh…” Niall trailed off, smiling at her sheepishly. “Will you?” _

_ “Will I what?” Shannon asked and Grace hit her arm. _

_ “You idiot.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “Will you go to prom with me?” Niall clarified and Shannon’s eyes widened in realization.  _

_ “Oh shit. Of course I will.” She said. “Why didn’t you just ask me weeks ago? Then you wouldn’t have had to deal with all the other girls.” _

_ “Well I got you a bunch of free chocolate didn't I?”  _

_ ***  _

_ “Stand still so I can fix your hair.” Louis said and Shannon rolled her eyes. _

_ “Do you even know what you're doing?” _

_ “Course I do. I have 4 younger sisters, I might as well be a hairdresser.”  _

_ Shannon shrugged and let him finish doing her hair, looking down at the pale pink dress she was wearing. _

_ “Do I look okay?” She asked Louis for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Louis smiled softly at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. _

_ “You looks stunning. Niall’s going to be blown away by how good you look.” _

_ “What if the other girls try to fight me or something?”  _

_ “Aren't you friends with most of them?” _

_ “I mean yeah, but they all wanted to go to prom with Niall.” Shannon said. Louis just shook his head, grinning. _

_ “You two are going to get married one day, mark my words. There.” He said as he finished putting her hair up. “You're good to go.” _

_ “Thanks Louis.” She said, giving him a hug. She sent a text to Niall to let him know she was finally ready before she went downstairs to have champagne with Louis and their families.  _

_ Niall lived right next door to Shannon and had their whole lives, so he was there within two minutes of Shannon sending the text.  _

_ “Wow.” He said as Shannon opened the door. “You look great.” _

_ “Thanks to me!” Louis called from the kitchen and Shannon rolled her eyes.  _

_ “Thanks. So do you.” She said and it was true, Niall was wearing a sleek navy blue suit that fit him perfectly. Niall’s parents came by a few minutes later, and Grace and Liam also came by to see how the dress Shannon had been gushing about for weeks really looked. _

_ They all sat around in the backyard, taking pictures and drinking champagne for a bit, until the limo came by to take them to the actual prom. _

_ Shannon was surprised when she realized the limo wasn’t filled with Niall’s other friends. When she pointed it out his mom just laughed. _

_ “We wouldn’t do that to you love. Have fun you two.” _

_ The whole night had been beautiful, Shannon and Niall having the time of their lives. All the seniors were very nice to Shannon and even demanded that she come to the after party, which of course Niall had already told her she was absolutely coming to.  _

_ Shannon had expected Niall to want to dance with other people, but he stayed by her side the whole night. It felt like for the night, Niall really was her boyfriend.  _

_ That was the night Shannon realized she was in love with him.  _

“And then… No wait! It gets better it does! Niall moved away for university…”

“And then I came back and took Shannon to her own prom, yes I know.” Niall said, cutting Louis off. “We know what happened, we were there.”

“You left out the best part!” Louis pouted. “We staged it so Shannon didn’t know you were coming.”

“You two were lucky I didn’t get a different date.” Shannon said, leaning back in her seat. “Anyways it was nice. Louis just tells this story way too often.”

“Tell me about it.” Zayn said. “He made it sound like it was your wedding we were going to.”   
“One day it will be.” Louis said determinedly. Shannon felt her cheeks flush and Niall glanced at her sideways, but he didn’t say anything.

Instead he turned on the radio and pretended to complain about Shannon’s singing as he always did, hiding the smiles that threatened to creep up his face when he turned to look at her. 


	3. If it's What You Want to Do

Of all the boyfriends Louis had had over the years, Shannon was sure that Zayn was the coolest.

Zayn was an artist, a good one, who had painting hanging up in Modern Art galleries all over the world. He showed her some of his art and Shannon had been amazed, which caused Zayn to be more than a little embarrassed.

He was quiet, but Shannon was sitting next to him at dinner so she managed to strike up a conversation between the two of them, Louis jumping in on occasion when he wasn’t being grilled by everyone else at the table.

The best part about Zayn was how much he obviously loved Louis, Shannon noticed the way his face would light up every time he said his name. Louis obviously quite liked him as well, Shannon kept catching him shooting admiring glances at Zayn as their friends asked him countless questions about his previous job and why he had finally decided to move back home.

“Yeah Louis came to one of my art shows and we just really hit it off.” Zayn said with a shrug. “He’s the kind of person that can make you feel comfortable in a crowd of people you don’t know.”

Shannon nodded, taking a sip of her drink. “He’s a good guy. He’s been one of my best friends since high school.”   
“Doesn’t he annoy you though? I mean, no offence, but I got annoyed hearing him talk about your apparent relationship with Niall.”

Shannon laughed. “Is that all he told you about me?”

“Well no, that was just what the conversations always turned into.” Zayn said, taking a sip of his beer as he rolled his eyes. “You two would make a good couple though.” 

Shannon blushed. “Nah, we’re too good of friends for that.” 

“I dunno.” Zayn said thoughtfully. “If he and his girlfriend don’t work out I’d say go for it.” 

“I’ll think about it.” Shannon said, knowing full well that it was never going to happen.

Shortly after that Niall and Jenna announced they were leaving, and when Shannon got up to hug them Jenna took the opportunity to confront her.

“Did you find anything out? About why he’s been acting so weird?” She asked. Shannon just smiled.

“Just wedding nerves. Nothing to worry about.” 

Jenna smiled at her, clearly relieved. “Thank God you’re here. Part of the nerves must have been from not seeing you, cause he was so much more relaxed today.” 

Shannon just smiled before bidding Jenna goodbye and moving over to hug Niall.

“Good luck.” She whispered. “Not that you’ll need it.”   
“Thanks.” Niall said, his voice wavering slightly. “You sure this is a good idea?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m sure, it matters that you’re sure.”

“I guess, but your opinion matters most to me.” Niall said and Shannon squeezed his hand.

“You love her. She loves you. There’s no better reason for you to do this.” 

Niall nodded, giving her one last hug before leaving. “See you tomorrow.”

As the two of them left the rest of the party started to disperse, all of them wishing Harry and Grace good luck for the next day before leaving. Grace told Shannon soon after that she was going to bed, since they would all have to be up early the next morning to get ready for the big day.

Shannon assured her she would go to bed shortly, but she had promised Louis they would go out for a drink first. 

She dropped some things off in her room before heading back down to the lobby to find Louis, who was kissing Zayn in the doorway. 

Shannon smiled, not wanting to disrupt their moment. She liked Zayn almost as much as she liked Louis, so she was glad to see them so happy. 

They pulled away after a moment and waved to Shannon when they saw her. Zayn gave Louis one last kiss as she approached before turning to Shannon.

“Have fun tonight. It was really nice to meet you.” 

“What, are you not coming?” Shannon asked surprised. “You know I don’t mind!”

“No, I know. I have work to do and besides, you two could use the time to catch up.” Zayn said and Louis just rolled his eyes.

“Shannon’s life is boring. We’ll be out of things to talk about after one drink.”   
“You’re not wrong.” Shannon said. 

Zayn still refused to come and although Shannon didn’t want him to feel like he had to stay behind, she was secretly grateful. She had really missed Louis and was excited to spend some time with him alone. 

They walked around the city for a bit, before Louis said that he wanted to go to Times Square.

“Why?” Shannon asked. “It’s just a bunch of flashy billboards.”

“Yeah but they’re pretty.” Louis said. Shannon rolled her eyes but they got on the subway all the same. 

They stopped in a few of the stores, and Louis bought Shannon a large bag of M&M’s from the store. 

“Wanna go to Central Park?” Louis asked. 

“Sure.” Shannon said without thinking. “Wait, no. Let’s not.”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just, let’s go to a bar.” Shannon said quickly before Louis could question her much further. 

Louis shrugged, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I missed you kiddo. I forgot how much of a handful you are.”

“I am not!” Shannon protested as they walked into the bar. “I just, know what I want.”

“Sure.” Louis said, rolling his eyes as they sat down at the bar. He ordered them both Cosmo’s before turning to Shannon.

“So what were you talking to Niall about before he left?” Louis asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Looked intimate.” 

“He, um, he’s proposing to Jenna.” Shannon said. “Right now. He’s proposing to her right now in Central Park.”

Louis’ eyes widened. “What? Right now? Why didn’t he wait until after the wedding?”

“You got me.” Shannon said, ordering both of them shots. She took hers as soon as the bartender handed it to her and Louis gave her a sideways look.

“You alright?”   
“Yeah, fine.” She said. “You going to drink that?”

Louis pursed his lips to hide his smile before handing her his shot. He waited for her to finish before smiling at her.

“You love him.”

“Do not.” Shannon said stubbornly. “Can I have another shot please?”

The bartender handed her one and she thanked him before letting it fall down her throat. It burned all the way down but she barely noticed. 

“Does he know?” Louis asked her as she took a sip of the glass of water she had ordered when they got to the bar. Shannon just nodded with a sigh.

“After we left your going away party, I told him. He doesn’t feel the same, he loves Jenna.”

“Did he say he doesn’t feel the same?”

“Not explicitly, no. But he had already bought the ring and he’s proposing right now, so it’s over Louis, it’s over. I’m sorry to crush all your hopes and dreams for us.”

“It’s not over.” Louis said, rolling his eyes. “Obviously he loves you.”

“He doesn’t.” Shannon said with a sigh. “Please let it go. I have to be happy for him but right now all I want to do is punch him for not choosing me.”

Louis pursed his lips again but didn’t say anything, just ordered her a tray of shots. He watched as she downed them one by one, until she eventually stopped, sighing and looking at him with tears welled up in her eyes.

“I actually believed you when you said we would end up together, you know that? But now look. Everyone’s getting married, you’ve got Zayn who’s incredible by the way, and I’m still alone. I’ll always be alone. I’m never going to get over Niall.”

“Yes you will.” Louis said, pulling her into a hug. “You might always love him, but he’s your best friend, it’s not like you’re ever going to lose him. Just take your own advice and let it go.”

“I can’t.” Shannon said. “Don’t you think I’ve been trying? The last thing I want is to be in love with him.”

“You’ll be okay love.” Louis said, rubbing circles on her back. “Everything will be okay.”

Looking back, Shannon wondered why the hell she hadn’t believed him. 

*** 

When Shannon finally stumbled back into her hotel room, she was surprised for the second time that weekend that Niall was standing there.

“Niall?”

“You know, I tried not to love you.” Niall said in response, and Shannon looked at him confused.

“I’m sorry?”

“Really, I did. All through high school, I tried to date other people. But then I realized I was dating people I knew you would hate, hoping you would tell me I was being an idiot and would tell me you loved me. But you never did.” Niall said, pacing around the room. Shannon was very drunk and had really just come upstairs looking for sleep, and Niall was taking much longer to get to his point than she had time for.

“Niall, what are you talking about?”

“I couldn’t help myself asking you to prom.” Niall continued as if Shannon hadn’t even spoken. “I was going to ask someone else. But then I thought, I don’t want to go with anyone else. I wanted to go with you. I thought I’d finally tell you when I prom-posed. But you thought I had asked you to go as friends so I chickened out.” He gave a hollow laugh. “Me! I was the fucking prom king and I couldn’t even tell the girl I brought that I liked her!”

Shannon sat down on the bed then, still not quite sure where Niall was going with all of this, but knowing something must be wrong if he wasn’t with Jenna after he had just proposed. She may be drunk off her ass, but she was still going to be the good friend she knew Niall needed right now. 

“I tired again the following year and I still couldn’t do it! I came back from university all determined and everything, and  _ again  _ I didn’t do it. Can you believe that? I beat myself up for years until eventually I just gave up. I knew I couldn’t get the courage to tell you so I just gave up. And then I met Jenna, and I thought I was finally over you, I went and bought a ring and everything, and then what do you do? You tell me what I’d been to sacred to tell you for years! And of course I couldn’t, I couldn’t…” Niall trailed off, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I still loved Jenna. I still had the ring for Jenna. So I turned you down. And that was fine, until I saw you, and Harry put us in this stupid room with the stupid heart-shaped bed, and you showed me that picture and you were wearing a damn wedding dress, a  _ wedding dress  _ for Christ’s sakes, and I just, I had to propose tonight or I’d never do it. I wanted you to stop me. Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Because I want you to be happy.” Shannon said. “You love Jenna.”

“I love you.” Niall said quietly. “And Jenna knows it.”

“I, but, you turned me down.” Shannon said stupidly, her drunk brain not working quickly enough to process everything Niall had said in the past few minutes. “I… You love me too?”

“That’s what I thought when you told me.” Niall said, sitting down on the bed next to her with a sigh. “I was stupid to say no to you.”

“But… But Jenna. What happened with Jenna?”

Niall grimaced. “I asked her to marry me and she stared at me for like 5 minutes with this stupid pitying look on her face, the one you told me I was giving you, before saying she couldn’t marry me because I’m in love with you. I don’t know how she knew that, but she did.”

“I… I really do make your life difficult.” Shannon said and Niall laughed.

“It’s my fault, really.”

“Niall…” She trailed off, looking him in the eyes. “Fuck, I’m drunk.”

Niall’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, really?”   
“I had like, 8 shots or something? With Louis? Cause you were supposed to be engaged and I wanted to be happy for you but I was really sad and yeah, anyway. I’m drunk. Like, really drunk.” She said with a small giggle. “And I know whatever you’re saying to me is super important but honestly, most of it is going right over my head.”

“Can I like, give you the short version?”

“Please do.”

“Alright. I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I might be way too late in telling you, but I’m telling you now. Please tell me it’s not too late.” Niall practically begged and Shannon smiled.

“You chose me.”

“I’ll always choose you.” Niall said. 

And before either of them knew it, they were kissing. 

How they hadn’t been doing this for years Shannon would never know. Kissing Niall felt easy, familiar, but also hot and heavy. For Shannon, it seemed too good to be true.

They fell backwards onto the bed, neither one of them wanting to break the kiss. Shannon had never felt more ready to do what she was sure they were about to do, but it seemed that Niall had other ideas.

“Wait.” He said, pulling away from her only slightly, so that his lips were hovering inches from hers. “You’re drunk.”

“That I am.” Shannon agreed. “Did you want to…?”

“We should wait.” Niall said softly. “I don’t want to… I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“You won’t fuck anything up.” Shannon assured him. “But you’re right, we should wait.”

But they continued to kiss for what felt like hours, because neither of them could get enough of the other. 

When they did eventually fall asleep it was wrapped in each other’s arms, just the way it was supposed to be. 


	4. White Wedding

The next morning went by in a blur. 

Shannon and Niall woke up late, and they barely has time to say hello to each other before they were racing out the door to their respective meeting spots, Shannon with Grace and the bridesmaids and Niall with Harry and the groomsmen. 

Grace was looking a little green when Shannon finally burst into the room. 

“Where have you been?” She hissed at her. “Everyone else is driving me crazy.”   
“Sorry, I…” Shannon trailed off, deciding not to tell Grace about what had happened with Niall yet. It was her day, she didn’t need to hear about Shannon’s love life.

“I slept in. Niall had his alarm set for later than mine.” She covered and Grace just sighed. 

“Course he did. Harry really gets off easy with this whole wedding thing, doesn’t he?”

“He won’t look as good as you, that’s all that matters.” Shannon said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you ready.”

Shannon was quickly pushed aside by Grace’s mother, who kindly asked her to go and greet some of the guests. Shannon glanced at Grace who just shrugged, so Shannon headed out of the room to wait by the door for the guests.

She wasn’t yet dressed herself, but Grace’s mom had been in one of her tyrant moods, so Shannon figured she was better off to get out of the room if she could.

She greeted a few of Grace’s relatives with warm smiles, and they all asked why she wasn’t dressed yet. She laughed it off for a while before she figured it was time that she change before one of Grace’s grandmother’s murdered her.

She slipped into the room where Grace was getting ready to grab her dress completely unnoticed, as Grace’s mother and sister were in a heated argument about her hair. She smirked at Grace as she passed and Grace discreetly flipped her off.

When Shannon got on the elevator to go up to her room Louis was standing inside, looking uncomfortable in his suit. He kept tugging at the collar, smiling at her when the doors opened.

“You haven’t changed yet?”

“I’m on my way to.” Shannon said, stepping into the elevator. “How’s Harry?”

“You know. Stressed, but trying to hide it. How’s Grace?”

“Stressed, but not as stressed as her mom.” Shannon said, hitting the button for her floor. “Where are you going?”

“Er, to see Zayn.” Louis said with a blush. “Don’t tell anyone. I’m supposed to be greeting guests.”

“So am I.” Shannon said with a smirk. 

Louis glanced at her again. “Have you seen Niall?”

“Um, yeah.”

“He seems happy.” Louis said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“About what? That he’s happy?”

“Well obviously things worked out with Jenna.”

Shannon hesitated before shaking her head. “Not from what I heard.”

“What?” Louis said, rounding on her just as the elevator doors opened. A couple was standing on the floor, looking at them confused as they waited for them to move.

“Take the next one.” Louis said, before hitting the close door button and watching their surprised faces disappear as the doors closed. “Talk.”

“That was mean.”

“Can you fucking…” Louis gave an irritated sigh before pulling the emergency stop and halting the elevator. “I will be late to this wedding if I have to.”

“He was in our room when I got back last night.” Shannon admitted. “Jenna said no.”

“Shit.” Louis said. “Then why did he seem so happy today?”

“Um.” Shannon started awkwardly, blushing. Louis’ eyes widened.

“Oh shit, you two…!”

“Don’t tell anyone.” Shannon said quickly. “It’s Grace and Harry’s day.”

Louis just grinned. “How’d it happen?”

“He um.” Shannon started awkwardly. “He’s been in love with me since high school.”

“Just like you.”

“I never said that.” Shannon said, blushing. “But yeah, just like me.”

“I knew it.” Louis said, unable to contain his grin. “You two are getting married.”

“Yeah whatever. You won’t tell anyone right?” 

“No, I won’t tell anyone.” Louis said, rolling his eyes. “But I’m happy for you.”   
“Thanks Louis.” Shannon said, and she had to admit she felt a lot better now that she’d finally told someone. The knot in her stomach she had played off as wedding nerves had slowly loosened as she talked to Louis. 

Louis restarted the elevator, waving goodbye to her as he got off at his floor. He practically bounced on his way to see Zayn, and Shannon couldn’t help but smile as she watched him go. 

When she finally got to her own room, Niall wasn’t there for the first time all weekend. Shannon quickly hopped in the shower that she should have had when she woke up but had surrendered to Niall as she raced out the front door.

The shower felt incredible after the long weekend she’d had, but she had to cut it short if she didn’t want Grace to kill her. She stepped out, wrapping a towel around her and quickly blow drying her hair.

Once her hair was reasonably dry she pulled on the bridesmaid’s dress, which was the same pale pink colour she had worn to Niall’s prom. She struggled to zip it up herself for a few minutes before she finally got it, and she moved back into the bathroom to curl her hair and do her makeup.

She finished within the next 15 minutes and was about to head back downstairs when Niall walked in.

“Hi.” He said, smiling sheepishly at her. “I was looking for you.”

“Really? Why?” Shannon said surprised. “I would’ve thought Harry would have you busy.”

“Nah, he kicked me out to greet guests. Grace’s mom said you were doing the same when I went to try and find you there but I didn’t see you in the lobby.” Niall said. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” Shannon said, with a slight blush. “I’m sure Grace will redo my hair and makeup when I get down there.”

“Probably, it is her wedding.” Niall said, sitting down on the bed. “Do you need to go down right now?”

“I probably have a few minutes.”

Niall grinned. “Good. Come sit with me.”

They sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Niall wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she lay her head on his shoulder.

They sat there comfortably for a few minutes in silence before Shannon broke it.

“Is this a good idea?”

“What do you mean?” Niall asked. “I don’t think Grace and Harry are going to miss us.”

“No, I mean…” Shannon trailed off, lifting her head to look at him. “Us. This thing, whatever it’s going to be. Is it a good idea?”

“Course it is. We love each other.”

“Sure but…” Shannon bit her lip for a second before remembering all the time she had spent putting lipstick on. “What happens if we break up or whatever? A boyfriend I can deal with losing, but I can’t lose you as my best friend.” 

“I’d say we’re not going to break up, but I guess I don’t know that, do I?” Niall said thoughtfully. “But you’re right. It could happen, and if it does I don’t want to lose you either.”

“So what do we do?”

Niall thought for a moment. Shannon watched him nervously, if they couldn’t figure out a system would this work?

“We make a pact. We’re friends first, anything else is just bonus.” Niall said finally and Shannon smiled, relieved. 

“Yes. Yes, that’s good. That’s perfect.” She said, kissing his lips softly. He smiled, cupping her face before kissing her forehead.

“We should go back down.”

“Yeah.” Shannon agreed, but not wanting to move. “Have you told anyone about us?”

“No, I figured we could wait until after the wedding. Why, have you?”

“Just Louis. He trapped me in an elevator until I told him. But I made him promise not to tell anyone.”

“Good.” Niall said, kissing her again before standing up. “I’ll see you at the reception.”

“Don’t be late. You have to walk me down the aisle.”

Niall smirked. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

*** 

As she had predicted, Grace completely redid Shannon’s hair and makeup before the ceremony. 

“You know you can’t do your eyebrows for shit.” Grace said, rolling her eyes as she brushed over them. “And they gotta be good with all the pictures we’re taking later.”

When Shannon looked at herself in the mirror when Grace had finally finished, she looked almost exactly the same, but she decided not to say anything to Grace. If redoing her makeup calmed her nerves before the wedding, then it was the least Shannon could do to shut up and let her.

The ceremony was due to start in an hour and a half, and Grace’s nerves were finally taking full swing. She had finally snapped at her mother and kicked her out of the room, which was mostly the reason Shannon and the other bridesmaids were finally allowed back in. 

“Tell me something to distract me.” Grace said, sitting down in front of Shannon. “What did you and Louis do last night?”

“Well.” Shannon said, quickly constructing a story in her head that left out Niall. “We went to Times Square.”

“Yeah? What’d you do?” Grace’s leg was bouncing.

“Louis took a bunch of pictures of the billboards, and well so did I, I won’t lie to you on your wedding day. Oh, and I got my picture with Spider Man!”

“Ew.” Grace said, pulling a face. “Anyway. Continue.”

“We went in the Disney store, there’s two floors you know, and we did some other shopping, you know, Forever 21 and such. Oh and the M&M’s store, Louis bought me a huge bag of M&M’s.”

“No drinking?”

“Well we went to the bar afterwards.” Shannon said. “Had a bunch of colourful shots.”

“Are you hungover for my wedding?”

“Nah, you know I don’t get hangovers. Anyway, that was my night.”

“Sounds fun.” Grace said with a sigh. “I could use a drink.”

“I’ll get you one.” Shannon said with a smirk. “Just don’t tell your mom.”

“I would never.”

Shannon got up, heading outside for the open bar that Grace and Harry’s wedding guests were milling around. She ordered herself and Grace each a vodka cranberry and was waiting for the bartender to finish making them when Jenna came up to her.

“Hey.” She said brightly, ordering herself a drink. Shannon felt her cheeks blush red.

“H-hi Jenna.” She said nervously. Jenna just smiled at her.

“Niall told you huh?”

“Er, yeah.” Shannon said, blushing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come between…”

“You didn’t.” Jenna assured her. “I should’ve ended it as soon as I noticed, but I was being selfish.”

“How did you know?” Shannon asked her. “I didn’t even know.”

Jenna just smiled. “You know he’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah, cause we’re best friends.”

“That’s what I thought at first. But the way he looks at you, the way he’d drop anything for you…” Jenna trailed off with a shrug. “He wouldn’t do that for me. I was fine with it, but when he asked me to marry him I realized I should be marrying someone who did see the universe in my eyes, and you deserve to be with the guy who already sees it in yours.”

“I do?”

“You two are together now aren’t you? I told Niall he better tell you how he felt or I’d tell you myself.”

“I mean, yeah, he told me…”

“You don’t feel the same?”

Shannon paused, afraid of how Jenna might react. “I’ve been in love with him since high school.”

Jenna’s eyes widened. “Damn girl, why didn’t you say something?”

“And what, destroy his happiness? He’s my best friend, I wanted him to be happy no matter what.”

“You two deserve each other.” Jenna said, rolling her eyes but still smiling. “Give it a shot.”

“We are.” Shannon admitted. “We just don’t want to tell anyone yet, since it’s Grace and Harry’s wedding day and all.” 

Jenna’s face broke out into a huge smile. “Oh thank God. I know it’s weird for me to be happy for you given the situation but I so am.”

Shannon couldn’t help but smile at her. “Thanks Jenna.”

“Anytime kiddo.”

*** 

Just as he had promised, Niall was right on time to walk Shannon down the aisle.

He, Louis and the rest of the groomsmen walked in together, Niall smiling at Shannon and Louis smirking at her.

They all greeted Grace and commented on how nice she looked before she snapped at them to get in place and they all shifted to stand with the appropriate member of the bridal party.

Shannon, being the maid of honour,  was standing closest to Grace. Niall smiled at her, but avoided taking her hand.

“You look nice.” He said. “Like a flower petal.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” 

Niall shrugged. “Eh.”

“Well you look like a penguin.”

“Was  _ that _ a compliment?” He retorted and Shannon just smirked, copying his movement.

“Eh.” 

“Time to go.” One of Grace’s cousins said, poking her head into the room. Shannon and the other bridesmaids took their bouquets as the wedding march began to play. Shannon turned back to Grace as the first of the bridal party started down the aisle.

“You ready?”

Grace shrugged, giving her a small smile. “As I’ll ever be.”

Shannon smiled back, before linking her arm with Niall’s and walking down the aisle with him.

“This is fancy.” Niall muttered as they entered the wedding hall, and Shannon had to bite her lip to stop from laughing.

“Weddings typically are.”

“Not mine. Mine’s gonna be filled with memes.” 

Shannon couldn’t stop giving a small laugh at that one, but luckily no one noticed since they had reached the front of the hall, and were separating to go to either side of the alter. 

Shannon was facing Harry, and she gave him a smile. He smiled nervously back before they both turned their attention back to the door where Grace was making her entrance.

She seemed to float down the aisle, her smile growing as she kept eye contact with Harry the entire time. Harry’s grin was huge, and Shannon saw him shed a few tears.

They read their own vows, which were the perfect mix of funny and sappy. Shannon and Niall locked eyes a few times during the vows, but they both looked away quickly, blushing.

Dinner went smoothly, with everyone laughing and talking about the wedding. Before anyone knew it, Grace and Harry were having their first dance.

Shannon stayed with Niall the whole night, and they both got steadily drunk. At first they avoided dancing, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves, but by the end of the night they were both too drunk to really care.

Luckily, for once, even Louis wasn’t paying any attention to them. Grace and Harry rightfully had everyone’s attention. 

“I talked to Jenna.” Shannon said, looking up at Niall. They were currently dancing, in the middle of the crowded dancefloor, surrounded by couples which, Shannon supposed, they now were too.

“Yeah? What’d she say?” Niall asked, although he didn’t really look as concerned as Shannon had expected. The truth was, he didn’t really care what anyone said, as long as he was with her.

“Gave me her blessing.”

Niall laughed at that. “Did you need it?”

“No.” Shannon said truthfully, earning her another laugh from Niall. “But I felt a little guilty when I saw her so I was glad she didn’t yell at me.”

“I guess that’s true, it’s good I don’t have a jealous ex at this party.”

“Who’s the jealous ex?” Grace asked, having unknowingly to Niall and Shannon come up beside them. “Someone before Jenna?”

“Where  _ is  _ Jenna?” Harry asked, glancing around the room. “No offence, but shouldn’t you be dancing with her?”

“Um-”

“Maybe she went to get some air?” Shannon said, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

“Oh no, there she is.” Harry said, nodding towards the front of the dancefloor. “She’s with,  _ oh my god. _ ” Harry gasped. “She’s kissing that guy!”

“Damn.” Shannon said, a little impressed by how quickly Jenna had been able to move on.

“Do something!” Harry said, hitting Niall’s arm. “Want me to call her out in my speech?”

“Er, no, it’s ok. We broke up.” Niall said. 

“You did? That’s awful! How is she moving on so quickly?” Harry said, shocked.

Grace however, seemed to be clueing in. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Shannon dumbfounded and Grace just rolled her eyes.

“You’re just as oblivious as you were in high school. We all knew you loved each other, I’m just glad the two of you finally figured it out.” She grabbed a confused Harry by the arm. “See you guys later. Enjoy the party.”

Shannon and Niall watched them go, subconsciously gravitating back towards each other until they were just an inch from touching.

“We weren’t that oblivious, were we?”

“I was, you took me to two proms. If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is.”

Niall laughed. “Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious.”

“Shut up.”

“Gladly.” He said, and with that he leaned forward and closed the small gap between their lips. 

The party seemed to dissolve around them as they kissed. They didn’t hear the gasps of their friends, the “I told you so’s” Louis was shouting to anyone who would listen or Zayn trying to shush him. 

That was all stuff they would have to deal with in a few minutes, but right now all that mattered was that the two of them were together at last, the way it was always meant to be.

And that feeling, that nothing else mattered, would last the rest of their lives. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the official end of this story, but I'll be posting the epilogue soon! Thanks so much for reading! :-)


	5. Epilogue

_ Five Years Later _

“Niall?” Shannon called as she stepped in the front door of their new house. She was soon greeted by their excited golden retriever Cooper, and she grinned as she pet him.

“Hey buddy.” She said, kicking off her heels and taking off her coat before stepping into the house. “Where’s Niall?” 

Cooper just continued to follow her around the house, and Shannon had to assume Niall wasn’t home yet. She walked into the kitchen and got Cooper’s food out, trying to put aside her disappointment. 

Today was their third wedding anniversary, and while Shannon wasn’t expecting anything huge she had at least hoped he’d be home. 

“What’s for dinner?” She continued to coo to her dog, trying to ignore her heart sinking. “What should I have for dinner Cooper?”

Cooper, of course, didn’t respond, so Shannon went to look through the fridge for what she could possibly make. Neither she or Niall had been home much the past few weeks so it was pretty empty. 

“Pizza, maybe?” Shannon turned back to Cooper, defeated. “Whatever, I didn’t want to cook anyways.” 

The phone rang just as she was about to pick it up, so she answered it before ordering her pizza.

“Hello?”

“Hi Shannon!” Louis chirped. “How’s the anniversary going?”

“I’m taking the time to talk to you on the phone, how do you think it’s going?” Shannon said with a sigh.

“Niall’s still working huh?” 

“Yeah.” Shannon said, sitting down at the table in the kitchen. “I feel like I haven’t seen him in months.”

“He just got that promotion, you know he doesn’t want to be away all the time. He just has to be.”

“I know.” Shannon said. “I just miss him.”

“That’s fair.” Louis said. “Would it be a bad time to ask if you guys can come for dinner this weekend?” 

“I mean, I’ll be there.” Shannon assured him. “I’ll ask Niall if he’s free when he gets home.”

“Tell him he better be.” Louis said. “We haven’t been all together since Zayn and I’s wedding.”

“I know.” Shannon said softly. “I’m sorry we’ve been so busy.”

“Don’t sweat it kiddo.” Louis said. “It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not Niall’s either.” Shannon said, but it was mostly to reassure herself.

“He’ll come home.” Louis said softly. “Tonight, he will. I promise.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You seriously think he’d miss you anniversary?” 

“I don’t think he’d do it intentionally.” Shannon said. Just as the words left her mouth Cooper started to bark and rush towards the door, which had a key turning in it. 

“Oh shit.” Shannon said, a smile spilling over her entire face. “Louis he’s here. He came home!”

“I’ll let you go then.” Louis said, but Shannon had mostly stopped listening. “Enjoy your anniversary.”

“Thanks, bye Louis!” Shannon said excitedly, hanging up the phone and going to greet Niall in the hall. 

“Jesus Cooper, calm down.” Niall said, trying to keep him off as he tried to take off his shoes, but Cooper kept trying to go in and lick his face.

“Cooper, come here bud.” Shannon said and Niall looked up at her, smiling slightly.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be home.”

“Course.” Shannon said. “I wouldn’t miss tonight.”

“What’s tonight? Taco Tuesday?” Niall said and Shannon felt her heart sink.

“It’s Wednesday.”

“Oh, right.” Niall said. “Well anyway. What’s for dinner?”

“Um.” Shannon swallowed a lump in her throat. “I was going to order a pizza.”

“Again?”

“We, um, we don’t have any food.”

“Oh, right. We should probably go shopping this weekend.” Niall walked past her into the kitchen. “You want me to order it?”

“Um, unless you wanted to go out?” Shannon asked softly, hoping he was just playing a joke on her. 

“Not tonight love, I have a lot of work to do.” 

“Yeah, you sure do.” Shannon said softly, feeling tears spill onto her cheeks. “Forget it, I’m just going to go to bed.”

“Bed? Shannon it’s 6:30.” Niall looked up from the pizza menu to look at her. “Hey, what’s wrong Princess?”

“Nothing.” Shannon choked out. “I’m just tired.” 

“You’re clearly upset baby, do you want to talk about it?”

“Not with you.” Shannon snapped. 

Niall looked taken aback. “What did I do?”

“Nothing, you did nothing.” Shannon said, turning away from him.

“Then why are you mad at me?”

“Cause that’s the problem Niall, you didn’t  _ do  _ anything.” Shannon sobbed. “You couldn’t even remember the stupid date.”

“What’s so special about the damn date?”

“Nothing, at least not to you.” Shannon turned away from him again, heading upstairs. 

“Christ.” Niall muttered as she left, turning to Cooper. “Don’t suppose you could tell me how to fix this one, huh?” 

Cooper just brushed up against his leg, as the phone rang again. Niall picked it up, bending down to pat Cooper as he did so.

“Hello?”

“Oh Niall, you’re home!” Grace’s voice came over the line. “That’s so nice.”

“Er, yeah, I guess.” Niall said, confused. “What’s up?”

“Oh nothing, I just wanted to confirm you guys were coming to dinner Saturday? Oh, and wish you a happy anniversary.” 

Niall’s heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach. “It’s not our anniversary.” 

“Oh honey.” Grace said. “Niall I love you, but if you actually forgot I will come right over there and kick your ass.” 

“Shit.” Niall muttered. “Shit! Grace I gotta go.”

“To the florist, I hope.” Grace scoffed before Niall hung up and raced upstairs. 

“Shannon.” He breathed out, stepping into their bedroom to find her curled up on her side, her face buried in her pillow. “Oh my God Shannon, I’m so sorry.” 

She looked up at him, her face covered in tears. “You forgot.”

“I did Princess, I’m so sorry.” Niall walked over to sit next to her. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Shannon sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “Don’t you have work to do?” 

“It can wait.” Niall muttered, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t push him away, but stayed fairly stiff in his embrace. 

“I can’t believe you forgot.” She said softly after a minute. “I just thought...When you came home early…” 

“I know.” Niall said softly. “I let you down. I’m sorry.”

Shannon didn’t say anything, but leaned more into him. “We’re supposed to go for dinner on Saturday. With Louis and Zayn.”

“And Grace and Harry.” Niall added, kissing the top of her head. “Grace called to make sure we were coming.”

“Are we?” Shannon asked, looking up at him. Niall sighed, squeezing her shoulders closer to him.

“Yeah baby, I’ll be there. I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been around much. It’s just this new job…” Niall sighed again. “I don’t want to make excuses, especially now, but it’s really kicking my ass.” 

“Do you hate it?” Shannon asked softly. Niall smiled slightly. 

“Nah, I just hate that it’s keeping me away from you.” 

“But that’s just because of the promotion right? It’ll calm down once you settle in?” 

Niall bit his lip. “I hope so, yeah. But I honestly don’t know.” 

“So you might just never be home?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m never home.” Niall said a little defensively. “Besides, it’s good money.” 

“But is it worth it if you’re never home? For your family?”

“What, for you and Cooper?” Niall snapped. “You’ll get along fine without me here every second of every day.” 

Shannon blinked back tears and pulled away from him. “You really feel that way?” 

“That you don’t need me here every fucking minute of the day? You’re a grown woman Shannon, not a fucking baby.” 

“I know that, but…” 

“But what? You want me to be home to make you dinner every night? I need to make a living, Shannon.” 

“I know that but…”

“It’s a few long nights, what’s the fucking problem?”

“Nothing.” Shannon said softly. “That, that’s fine. I’m sorry.” 

Niall sighed, running his hands through his hair. “No, no I’m sorry. I’m the one who forgot our anniversary and now I’m trying to start shit with you, that’s not fair.”

“It’s fine.” Shannon said, standing up. “Did you, um, ever order the pizza?” 

“Um, no.” Niall said. “I’ll go do it now.” 

He went back downstairs and Shannon stepped into the bathroom to wash off the dry tears from her face. 

When she went back downstairs Niall had lit candles and poured them each a glass of wine.

“I know it’s just pizza, I promise we’ll go somewhere better soon.” Niall said when she walked into the room. “But it’s still our anniversary.” 

Shannon smiled. “This is nice. But um, no wine for me.”

“Why, you’re not driving anywhere.”

“Course not, I still don’t have a license.” Shannon said, sitting down. “But still, no wine.”

“Shannon, I haven’t seen you turn down alcohol since we started going to parties in high school. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just don’t want…” Shannon trailed off, looking up at him. “I’m pregnant.” 

Niall’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“Yeah, um, I only took one test yesterday so I’m not positive, but well, the test was. I’m just being cautious.” Shannon said. “Is that, is that okay?” 

Niall just sat at the table, apparently in shock. “You’re… we haven’t talked about…” 

“I know it’s bad timing.” Shannon said quickly. “But I’m not sure yet. It might be a false positive.” 

Niall looked up at her again. “I’m being a dick.” 

“No, you’re just…”

“...The world’s worst husband. Honestly, for all the shit I’ve done today alone I should get a fucking award.” Niall stood up, grabbing both her hands and pulling her up and into his arms.

He kissed her softly, placing a hand on the side of her face. “I love you. I love you so fucking much. I can’t believe we might be parents.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“A good way, always a good way.” Niall kissed her again. “You’re my wife, my best friend, and the…” He laughed slightly. “The mother of my child.” 

“Maybe.”   

“Right, maybe.” Niall hugged her tightly to him. “If not now then soon.”

“You mean that? You think we’re ready?”

“Sure we are.” Niall said, rocking her back and forth in his arms. “We’re married, with a home, and a dog even. I might be a shitty husband but I promise you I’ll be the best fucking dad.” 

“You’re not a shitty husband.” Shannon looked up at him. “You just made a mistake.” 

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“You already have.” Shannon said, kissing him. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

*** 

“Who wants shots?” Louis called, as soon as he and Zayn walked into the restaurant on Saturday night.

“Shots? We’re adults trying to have a civilized dinner.” Grace said from her seat at the table. 

“Just cause you and Harry have a kid.” Louis said, rolling his eyes. “Shannon, come do shots with me.”

“No, thanks.” Shannon said and Louis raised an eyebrow.

“Since when do you turn down alcohol? I’ll pay.” 

“I’m alright, Louis.”

“You don’t even have a kid!”

“We have a dog.” Niall pointed out and Louis rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever. You’re all getting lame in your old age.” 

He and Zayn sat down, and they all ordered their food. 

“So, how was your anniversary?” Grace asked Shannon and Niall, shooting Niall a look.

“Fuck off, Grace.” Niall said with a groan. 

“It was, not the best one we’ve had.” Shannon said and Niall groaned again.

“That’s putting it lightly.” 

“Have a shot with me to make up for it, Niall will pay.” Louis said, nudging Shannon. She rolled her eyes.

“ _ No, _ Louis.” 

“You’re not even having wine! You really are getting lame…” He cut off suddenly, and Shannon shot him a look before he could say anything else. 

“What?” Grace said, turning to Louis. “That wasn’t a full argument.”

“Nothing.” Louis said, taking a sip of Shannon’s water. “It wasn’t a good argument.”

“Since when do you care?” Harry said with a laugh. 

“Since now.” Louis said. “When are we eating? I’m starving.”

“Me too.” Shannon said, taking her water back from Louis so she could have a sip. 

“I mean we ordered so we should get it soon.” Grace said, eyeing them suspiciously. “Why are you two…?” 

She cut off as Niall’s phone rang loudly. He checked the ID before standing up.

“It’s work, I gotta take this. Don’t let Shannon eat all my food if it comes.” 

“Hey!” 

Niall just smirked, kissing the top of her head before stepping outside to take the call. Louis hit Shannon’s leg with his as soon as Niall left, before turning to her. 

“Let’s do shots  _ now. _ At the bar.” He said, grabbing her arm.

“Fine?” She said, allowing him to pull her to the bar.

“I’m not actually doing a shot with you.” She said as they got there.

“Well duh. Seeing as you’re  _ pregnant. _ ” 

Shannon blushed. “I don’t know for sure yet. I’m going to the doctor tomorrow, but for now I’m playing it safe.” 

“That’s why you didn’t tell me, right?” Louis said and Shannon rolled her eyes again.

“I barely got to tell Niall, plus all of you insisting that I’m an alcoholic isn’t exactly helping me cover it up.” 

“Well if you want to keep it a secret you gotta at least pretend to do a shot with me, then tell everyone you’re not feeling well. No one’s gonna believe you’re not drinking for the sake of not drinking.”

“Again, you’re making me sound like an alcoholic. But you’re probably right.” Shannon admitted, allowing Louis to order himself a shot and getting the bartender to fill her a shot glass of water. 

“I’ll give you a bigger tip to pretend it’s tequila and make her suck on a lime slice after.” Louis said to the bartender and Shannon hit his arm. 

“Stop being extra and just do fake shots with me, would ya?” 

“Cheers.” Louis said, tipping his shot glass to her as they both took their shots. “You don’t even have to pretend to screw up your face since we all know you like your liquor straight.” 

“Unlike my friends!” Shannon said, giving him a hug. “Thanks for covering for me.” 

“Anytime love. I don’t want to jinx anything but I’m really happy for you.” 

“Thanks Lou.” 

“You’re not really doing shots are you?” Niall asked warily, coming up behind Louis.

“You’re in no position to judge if she was, Mr. I-Forgot-Our-Anniversary-Please-Forgive-Me.” Louis said and Shannon giggled. 

“You know, you’re all giving me a harder time than Shannon did.” Niall said. 

“I faked the shot so people wouldn’t get suspicious.” Shannon clarified and Louis nodded.

“Not everyone’s as smart as me.” 

“Or they’re just not as intrusive.” Niall pointed out and Shannon “oo-d” at Louis.

“He’s got you there.” 

“Whatever. I didn’t forget our anniversary.” 

“Christ.” Niall said, throwing his hands up in defeat. “I need a shot.” 

Louis left them to go back to the table and Shannon sat on a barstool as she waited for Niall to order his shot. 

“What did work want?” She asked after Niall ordered. 

“They, um, want to send me to New York next week.” Niall said. “For a conference.”

“Oh.” Shannon said. “For how long?” 

“3 days.” Niall said. “But I might make it a week.” 

“Why?” Shannon asked, surprised. 

“Well I thought maybe we could take a mini vacation? You know, seeing as New York is where we got together and all.”

Shannon couldn’t help but smile at that. “That sounds great.”

“Can you get the time off work?”

Shannon laughed slightly. “Can you?”

“Course I can.” Niall said with a small smile. “We should probably go back over.”

“So you can get roasted some more?”

Niall groaned again. “I can’t believe Grace told everyone.”

Shannon just smiled. “I didn’t expect anything less.”

*** 

The next day, Shannon sat nervously in the passenger side of the car as Niall drove to the doctor’s office, trying to concentrate on the radio. 

“You okay?” Niall asked, turning down the radio and glancing at her as they hit a red light. “You’re not singing along to annoy me.”

Shannon smiled slightly. “Does it really annoy you?” 

“No. I used to pretend it does, but it never really did.” Niall admitted as the light turned green again. “Are you nervous?”

“Yeah.” Shannon admitted, looking down at her hands. “I’m just not sure why.”

“I mean it’s understandable, this could change our lives forever.” Niall said. “In a good way of course.”

“Yeah.” Shannon said. “Are you nervous?”

Niall laughed slightly. “I’m terrified.” 

Shannon smiled slightly, having him admit that made her feel a lot better. She turned up the radio and began to sing along, and Niall didn’t bother to hide the smile that crept up his face. 

*** 

“Well, you’re not pregnant.” The doctor said an hour later, and Shannon’s eyes widened.

“I’m not?”

“No, it must’ve been a false positive.” The doctor said. “I’m sorry, you must’ve been so excited.” 

But Shannon couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief wash over her. “That’s alright, we weren’t actually trying yet.” 

“Well I wish you luck when you do.” The doctor said with a smile. Shannon thanked her before leaving the room to meet up with Niall in the waiting room. 

Niall smiled at her when she came up to him. He took her hands in his and looked up at her expectantly. 

“Er, false alarm.” Shannon said awkwardly. “I’m sorry.” 

Niall’s face fell slightly, but Shannon had a feeling he was secretly relieved too. “Ah, well that’s okay. We weren’t trying yet anyway.” 

“That’s what I said.” Shannon said with a small smile. “Honestly I don’t think I was ready yet, that’s why I was so nervous on the way here.” 

Niall really did look relieved when she said that. “Oh thank God, me neither. I was so scared.” 

Shannon laughed, pulling him out of his seat and into a hug. “God, I’m so happy I could cry.” 

Niall smiled, kissing the top of her head. “C’mon, let's go get a drink.”

*** 

New York City hadn’t changed much since Shannon and Niall had last been there, nearly 5 years ago. Times Square was still full of tourists, and Central Park was still Niall’s favourite part of the city.

He and Shannon were there now, sipping coffee and strolling leisurely through, hand in hand. They watched as tourists stopped for pictures and locals tried to get around them, clearly on their way to somewhere important.  

“This is nice.” Shannon said. “I feel like we never have time to just go for walks anymore.” 

“Yeah.” Niall said. “We should’ve brought Cooper.”

“Ugh, we should’ve. He would’ve loved this.” Shannon said. “But not the small hotel room.” 

“Or the plane.” Niall pointed out and Shannon nodded in agreement. 

“So when are you going to show me your favourite part of the park?” Shannon asked, nudging him. Niall just looked at her confused.

“What are you on about?”

“Where you proposed to Jenna.” She said and Niall groaned. 

“Didn’t I already show you?” 

“Not since you did it.” 

Niall rolled his eyes. “Do you like seeing me in pain?”

“Why does it bring you pain? If she hadn’t turned you down we wouldn’t be here now.” 

Niall squeezed her hand. “I like to think we would’ve gotten here eventually anyway.”

“I mean, yeah, probably. But it would’ve been a lot messier. You’d be divorced, or at least someone’s ex-fiancee, and who knows where I’d have been in those years in between.” 

“Other than the best man at my wedding?” 

“I like to think my single life wouldn’t have revolved around you.” Shannon said, nudging him again. “But honestly, it probably would’ve knowing me.”

Niall stopped walking for a second, so that he could pull her closer to him and kiss her. “You’re right, this was the best path here. But we would’ve made it here anyway. We were always meant to make it here.” 

And as they stood there, in the crisp autumn air, leaves blowing past them as tourists brushed past them, Shannon realized she was standing here in her favourite place in the world, married to her best friend, and of course he was right, how could they not have been meant to make it here?

Things weren’t perfect, and honestly they never would be. Niall was always going to work long hours, Shannon was always going to be just a little too needy. But they both knew this was all they could hope for, all they really wanted since they were kids. 

It may never be perfect, but it was pretty damn close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i finally finished this! i hope whoever actually read this enjoyed it! :-)


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